T5W#224-Top 5 Anime Things I’m Thankful For in 2019

I know this week was supposed to wrap up my Retro Video Game Miniseries but Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  And let me tell you, every year I don’t think I’m going to do this particular Top 5 and every year I get proven wrong.  Every year continues to be a struggle, filled with new challenges, new highs and new lows.  When the lows get me, they get me and it can be tough to get through some days without freaking out.  And then, I remember that Anime is there and always is.  Every year there’s something new to look forward to in the medium, whether on the screen or at a convention.  And when I look back on what 2019 has been like, I have to remember that Anime has been there for me in new and surprising ways.  So today, yeah im gonna continue this little Top 5 Wednesday tradition and lay out the Top 5 Anime Things I’m Thankful For in 2019. 

#5-Mobile Suit Abridged: Gundam Wing

Heero just wants to be the best secret agent with the greatest music playlist ever.  Relena is a rebel who gives zero F’s.  Zechs thinks Tallgeese is the greatest Gundam in the World…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for what has become the Abridged series I’ve always wanted but never truly knew how much until one of my friends showed me it existed.  Operation Meatier has done what only a few groups have managed to do…and just as well as Team Four Star with Dragon Ball Z Abridged.  Wing is fun but it isn’t perfect and Mobile Suit Abridged knows what soft points to poke and to produce the most laughs.  When I’ve had some really bad days this year, Mobile Suit Abridged: Gundam Wing gave me something to smile and laugh about.  If you haven’t checked out the first seven episodes, head over to their page and get on it.  Link is right below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaOPFwje0plSZpef1RyzNWg

#4-Netflix Bringing Old Favorites Back

Over the years, Netflix has been slowly building it’s Anime catalogue.  It’s not even close to rivaling Crunchyroll or Hulu…yet.  And most of the titles have been really recent Anime without much following or recognition.  Most have even been not so great 3D CG series that…well don’t look that great.  And then you have the nights I pull up the app to look around and suddenly…there’s something I never expected to see.  Titles from the past, big ones, have been added to the Netflix Anime Library in 2019 including Code Geass, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, all of K On plus the Movie and the first two seasons of Haikyu.  Being able to revisit these favs or check out their later chapters for the first time with the English dubs got me so excited…especially for K-On.  This was the year Netflix started to do more right than ever before when it came to Anime and I’m so happy it is.

#3-Being Able to MC The Senator Theater Anime Nights

In 2019, the Senator Theatre, a historic local theater in Baltimore, began a monthly Anime Night segment.  The Senator has long been my go to place for pretty much any movie ever since I saw the Special Edition of Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope back in 1997.  They’ve shown more kid friendly Anime on their massive screen for weekend family specials but they’d never done anything like this before.  This was the year they were finally going to show the legends: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Your Name, Perfect Blue.  I’ve been a friend of the theater for a long time and when I pitched the possibility of introducing these films…I was given the greenlight without hesitation.  Sometimes I feel like I’m totally bombing and stuttering myself to death.  But as time’s gone by, I’ve gotten more confident and excited about the titles I introduce.  I get to talk about some of my favorite Anime for a large crowd for a short time.  Feels like lifes been building to this opportunity and I’m beyond happy I’ve been given the chance to seize it.

#2-The Love and Support Sent to Kyoto Animation

 

The arson attack on Kyoto Animation’s headquarters back in July was one of the most devastating events of 2019.  A senseless act of violence decimated the studio and took so many lives.  It left all of us reeling, mourning…and just as quickly asking, “What can we do to help?”  From online fundraisers to events at conventions, the love and support from the Anime community and the world at large was instantaneous.  This wasn’t just about helping one of greatest Anime studios in existence recover, it was about helping people back up from something horrible and being there to embrace them with an invisible hug and show of “we’re here for you”.  Kyo Ani is still getting back to proper strength and several of it’s high profile projects like the Violet Evergarden movie and Season 4 of Free have been pushed back a little ways.  Doesn’t matter…we’ll always wait and we’ll always be ready if Kyo Ani needs additional help.  It’s called family for a reason.

#1-The Convention Family Grows

Every year, the convention scene evolves and changes and no one year or con is the same as the previous.  2018 was a high mark for both Katsucon and Otakon for me.  2019 didn’t quite meet those highs but both were special for their own unique reasons: the continuing growth of my Convention Family.  This year I got to meet friends of friends who have become my friends.  I’ve also gotten to meet cosplayers I consider to be absolute Legends, and a couple who are just beginning their cosplay journeys but are off to a stellar start.  Every person I meet at a con is someone I form an instant connection with and they slowly become dear to me.  Some are closer than others, but I’d do a favor for everyone.  Hell, I even got to enjoy some Otakon time with one of my very best friends who had never been to an Anime Convention before.  These guys are why going to conventions matters, even if it’s just for a day or so.  Theyre the people who matter and the true take away from any event.  Every selfie is worth more than any exclusive screening or Dealers Room item.  I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, the official mantra for me and Anime Conventions, “I don’t have friends…I’ve got Family.”

Kakegurui XX Part 4 Episodes 10-12

Yumeko, Mary, Ryota, Ririka, Midari and Yuriko are all summoned by mysterious invitation to participate in a “Hundred Votes Auction”, an event that could prove to be the turning point in the entire Student Council President Election.  But it becomes apparent that they are not the only ones involved in this.  Someone has been playing a very long waiting game and now the time has come for them to emerge and take back something stolen from them a very long time ago.  Everyone stands to lose something…and Yumeko wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Well, I was hoping I wasn’t going to be right, but I was.  No, the Election Arc is not wrapped up by the end of the final moments of Kakegurui XX.  However, as a Season Finale, it did try to go big and succeeded mostly in guaranteeing that this election, and hopefully this series, is far from over.

Before we get to the Hundred Votes Auction, we should wrap up Sayaka vs. Yumeko.  I have to say, the twisted nature of most of this cast still astounds me.  It’s hard to gauge just how downright messed up Yumeko and Kirari really are to risk so much even the lives of others just for a gambling thrill.  And yet, Sayaka passed a test she thought she’d failed and was rewarded with what was pretty much a moonlit confession of extreme adoration from the woman she loved, Kirari.  I’m not saying Kirari deserves to continue being Student Council President with the way Hakkyou Academy is running but then again no one from the Momobami Clan has given me cause to root for them either.  Still, there’s genuine emotion in Kirari and Sayaka’s big scene to complement the beautiful imagery and dialogue.  Love is love, no matter who you fall for so long as they accept you in some way.  Sayaka has her President.  So despite Yumeko winning, Sayaka got the better prize.

Oh Rei.  From the moment she (yes she) first appeared, I knew something was up.  I think we spent more time glimpsing at her interactions with the Momobami’s and the lower class students of Hakkyou Academy more than with any other member of the illustrious clan.  I knew something had to be up when it was revealed she would be running the auction that reunited Yumeko and Ryota with some of Hakkyou’s greatest gamblers including Mary, Yuriko and Midari.  Oh man, Yumeko flat out refusing to acknowledge Midari’s existence and believe that everyone was talking to themselves when they spoke to her was freaking priceless (though she did acknowledge her once towards the end…so they’re good now?).  And it turns out Rei was the one plotting all along to pull the rug out from everyone and claim the Presidency for herself.  It’s hard to fault her strategy too, going to the lowest bunch of students with only one vote to offer, rather than someone with a great deal more just to get into the race faster.

Honestly, ill admit I was kind of puzzled by how the game ended.  Oh sure it was great to see Yumeko and some of the great season one favs band together to overcome Rei’s supposedly foolproof system.  At the same time though, Rei did seem to have good reason for wanting to bring down the Momobami’s and Hakkyou Academy, all to avenge the only woman who was ever kind to her as a child, aka Yumeko’s sister.  However, Yumeko convinces her to free herself of the chains of vengeance and embrace gambling like everyone else has and choose her own fate not dictated by the Momobami’s, much like Yumeko has despite her sisters fate.  The thrill of the gamble is all that will ever matter to Yumeko and she wants the game to keep going.  I guess with this outcome, the Momobami’s are still in play and Rei can join in too if she so chooses.  Granted I’m kind of coming up with this as pure theory based on what ive seen and im still scratching my head.

And so, Kakegurui XX ends on a bit of an uneven note.  Will we see a resolution to the Election Arc in a (hopefully) possible third season?  With Ririka ready to make her first gamble for herself will this move Mary to start including her in more plays for Student Council President?  What role with Rei play now that she’s free from the servitude of the Momobami Clan?  Will there ever be an event that can truly push Yumeko’s love of gambling to the limit and force her to confront the darkness of her addiction like never before?  Personally im very interested in that last one but who knows.  Yumeko Jabami herself continues to be one of the most fascinating characters in Anime and I hope we delve more into her insane psyche in later seasons. 

Guess I should wrap up with final thoughts.  Kakegurui XX started very strong with a premise promised at the end of Season One that flourished throughout.  The stakes were raised considerably and Yumeko and her friends were placed in some tough situations that forced them to show that all the character development from the first season wasn’t going to be ignored and they were either going to grow further, or, in Yumeko’s case, embrace the crazy like they always did regardless of the outcome of things.  Even though the rules of several games continued to puzzle me and the final few episodes suffered from a little lack of clarity, the characters and their over the top reactions to every little thing always kept XX interesting and a really fun binge experience.  It’s not one of the best sequels ever made (it’s certainly not Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage or Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid).  But Kakegurui XX always finds ways to keep you fascinated and theorizing even during its more flawed moments.  I just hope that some of those unresolved questions and, most importantly, the whole of the Election Arc are eventually given an ending fitting of the epic promise they presented at the beginning of the season.  All that in mind, I’m awarding Kakegurui XX an 8/10.  It’s still a fun show and really no matter who ends up becoming Student Council President, I think we all know Yumeko Jabami will always be the Queen of Crazy, long may she reign.

Whew, now that that’s done how about we get back to another crazy queen for one last journey?  It’s been a long wait but Lina Inverse and her crew of bumbling demon stompers are finally back next week as we get ready to start closing out The Year of The Slayers.  Slayers Revolution kicks off next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.  Let’s hope we can close out 2019 strong with the finale of this year long project.  See ya then.